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Dragon Rider
Back to Classes Dragon Rider Dragon riders are those that form a magical soul bond with a dragon at the time of their hatching, Trained as both elite warriors and great mages, thanks to the innate magical power granted to them by their bond with such an intensely magical creature. In old times when they were a necessity, the dragon riders were an order akin to paladins, with a moral code of ethics and rules that must be followed. However, towards the end of the order's existence, there was much in-fighting as its usefulness in saving the dragons as a race died out, and existed as almost simply another military force, albeit a powerful one with dragons as a large portion of its might. When the order finally split and moved away from common knowledge, it moved in three parts. First was their absorption into the newly formed Akhrosian Empire, where they served as the precursors to its now legendary Winged Legion. Second, were the dissidents who craved only power and glory, becoming adventurers, sellswords, and etcetera, with some of the more powerful even going off to attempt the conquer/formation of their own empire or kingdom, all of which ultimately failed. The third were those who wanted to preserve their order's knowledge, history, and secrets, and became a secretive underground order themselves, believing in the moral code set forth by their predecessors and that the time may once again rise when such an order of riders is needed. Bonding Ritual Normally, dragon eggs are laid singly after a one year internal incubation, though oftentimes doubly and sometimes triply, with actual clutches of eggs being rare, but some of as many as 2 dozen eggs have been recorded. This means that, since laying eggs are few and far between for dragons, very few make it into the hands of sentient non-dragon creatures such as humans or elves. Even then, the creation of a bond that makes a true Dragon Rider doesn't happen to whoever hatches the egg, and was once developed as a survival mechanism, an ancient ritualistic enchantment that forged together the very souls and fates of dragon and rider, performed on individual eggs. Those eggs enchanted in this way chose a rider based on instinct, luck, and fate, and withheld on actually hatching until a suitable rider was chosen. This ritual, while forgotten, has been seen to have a residual effect on the children born of dragons affected this way, theorized to have been incorporated permanently as a survival mechanism in case the descendants likewise have their eggs make their way to non-dragon hands, possibly through the dragons fairly unique ancestral memory, which passes on the lifetimes of experience gained by their ancestors as natural talent and instinct, and occasionally actual, accessible knowledge and real memories belonging to their heritage. Regardless, simply hatching an egg isn't what makes a dragonrider, one needs to be chosen by fate or know a mage that knows how to perform the ritual. Prerequisites Bonding ritual with dragon egg, level 20 Hit Die d10 Skills 2+Intelligence modifier, gain Ride skill at maximum ranks for free (or pick another skill for free if Ride already at max) Proficiencies Weapons - Simple and Martial Armor - All armor Shields - All shields Attack Bonus +1/level, 5 attacks maximum Saves Fortitude - +1/level, +3 at 1st Level Reflex - +1/2 levels, +2 at 1st Level Will - +1/level, +3 at 1st Level Bonus Feats Dragon riders gain a bonus feat at 1st level, and one every 5th level (5, 10, 15, etc.). Dragon riders also gain a bonus Greater Strength, Dexterity, or Wisdom feat every 3rd level (3, 6, 9, etc.). Specials Level 1 : Dragon Bond - You have a magical bond with a dragon that grants both the dragon and rider bonuses based on both the rider's level and the dragon's age. These bonuses are listed below in a chart. Level 2 Combat Casting - Gained as a bonus Feat Level 3 Simplified Casting - Ignore spell failure on armor Level 4 Bonus Martial Feat - Gain a bonus martial feat of your choice Level 5 Dragonback - You may attack from atop your dragon with any weapon of the two-handed category rather than just those with reach. These attacks also now have advantage. Fast Movement - Your speed is increased to 40' if it wasn't equal to or higher already. Level 8 Swift Return - You may move up to 30 feet as part of your full round attack, as long as you end the turn back on your dragon. Dismounting and remounting don't take up any of this distance, regardless of how big your dragon is. Level 10 Prestige Mastery - You may exchange your base class levels for levels in this prestige class any time you level up in this class. This will essentially require you to remake your character from scratch, however, and may require DM assistance. If you end up with less total bonus feats, skills, etc. as a result, you lose those feats/skills/etc. Level 12 Bonus Item Creation/Metamagic Feat Fast Movement +2 - Your speed increases to 50' if it wasn't equal to or higher already. Level 15 Learned Sorcery - You may learn spells from scrolls and spellbooks just as a mage would, but retain your spontaneous casting. You may still only learn spells from the Wizard Spell list unless you take the proper feats, however. Level 18 Blinding Speed - Your speed increases to 60' or matches your dragon's base land speed, whichever is higher. Level 20 Recall - You and your dragon may teleport to the other's location as a free action, and Swift Return increases to your base land speed rather than 30 feet. In addition, as long as you started your turn riding your dragon, any attacks made during your turn have advantage. Level 50 Fight as One - You and your dragon essentially are so familiar with each other and have spent so much time in each others' heads that you may essentially switch conciousness', and can also read what the other one might do in any given situation. This grants advantage on attacks when in combat together, double advantage when flanking, and double advantage when the rider is dragonback or using swift return. They also gain advantage on saves to resist mind-affecting effects (regardless of distance between rider and dragon), using whichever character has the higher save bonus regardless of who's being affected, as well as a +20 bonus, and may make any number of additional saves to break the effect should it still succeed, once per round, using the remaining character's bonus without advantage or the +20. Dragon Bond Bonuses Dragons have the most innate magic of any living creature, and your bond with such a being allows you to partake in that magic, both conciously by tapping into magic power for spells and other features, and unconciously, granting several side effects simply by being bonded, such as an extended life span or becoming faster and stronger. Sometimes, strange effects may occur simply because the dragon wills it to be so, and such effects always have an effect on the rider as well, even if they weren't the subject. However, Newly hatched dragons are only just growing into their power, and as such, many of the effects granted by this bond won't express themselves even if the rider is sufficiently skilled and well trained in the class until the dragon grows some. Likewise, even if they grow old together, doing nothing to train up you soul and strengthen your bond besides living life peacefully will also cause lessened or no effects from this bond. Bonuses subject to change. Rider Bonuses +2 to all stats/level, limited to +1/5years of dragon's age or +10, whichever is higher. No limit if dragon reaches Mature Adult category. Grants agelessness immediately, meaning you will not die of old age. However, you will still age physically unless you get to level 20 and your dragon ages to Juvenile category. Dragon Bonuses As above except per 5 years of age rather than per level, and grants +4 natural AC per 5 years, as well as a bonus feat per hit die. Magic Dragon riders gain the ability to use magic from their bond with their dragon, but must still learn to cast these spells the old fashioned way, creating an odd mix of caster traits. Some would say this is a superior form of casting, however. Cast spontaneously, as a sorcerer, without preparation of spells every day. Start 1st level knowing all cantrips an 5 1st level spells. Learn 3 spells per level, and only through leveling up until level 15, at which point you may learn spells just as a mage or wizard can from any spellbook or scrolls.